Detector-bar clip



' (No Model.)

C. HANSBL. DETECTOR BAR CLIP.

. N0. 566,o78. Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

mi Naams Pneus oo.. vHoroLxTHo.. WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES HANSEL, OF EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

DETECTOR-BAR CLIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 566,078, dated August 18, 1896.

Application led January 6, 1896.

To cLZZ 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES HANsEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Eastomin the county of Northampton, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Detector Bar Clips, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to detector-bar clips I for railway-tracks.

As is well known in the art of railway-construction, detector-bars are commonly employed in connection with switch-points,their4 purpose being to guard against the shifting of the switch-point while a train is crossing the switch. These detector-bars commonly consist of long plates placed adjacent to the rails and acted upon by the iianges of the truck-wheels. In adjusting these plates in juxtaposition to the rail it has been found expedient to employ a device which will con-V neet the detector-bar with the rail so as to at all times maintain it in proper relation thereto to be acted upon by the flange of the wheel.

' To this end clips have been employed having jaws movable relatively to each other and clamped around the bottom web of a rail by means of a bolt and nut. It has been found in practice, however, that these clips, which are placed upon the market as separate articles of manufacture, are not capable of use in connection with all of the various types of railway-rails, and that a clip designed to be used upon rails of certain sizes is liable, when clamped to a smaller rail, to slip. Should this take place,the detector-bar is disarran ged and often made inoperative. The present invention is designed to overcome this difficulty by providing a clamping device which will be capable of use upon rails of widely-different types and sizes, and which shall preclude the objectionable slipping above referred to.

In the present construction the objection above referred to is overcome by the use of adjustable jaws; that is to say, jaws which are not only adjustable relatively to each other, but one of which is provided with mechanism which permits of an auxiliary adjustment as well as a positive grip upon the web of the rail. In addition these jaws grip the web of the rail not at one point along each side, but at two points on one side and at one Serial No. 574,421. (No model.)

here shown, these jaws consist of lips proj ecting upwardly and outwardly fromthe baseplate b and at or adjacent to each end thereof.

It is pro- Within each jaw is a screw c, operating in a threaded perforation in the jaw, the end of each screw being beveled to conform generally to the contour of the web a. The opposite end of each screw is provided with a rectangular head d to facilitate its adjustment. In this way the screws will be automatically prevented from being accidentally loosened under the jarring of the rail. It is to beunder- -stood,of course, that said screws may be made with tapering points, in which case they may be adjusted after the clip has been placed in position.

D designates a jaw adapted to coact with that side of the web a opposite the side which is engagedy by the jaws O. This jaw is also preferably cast in a single piece, vand consists of the base d' and the jaw proper, d.

E designates a bolt passing through a perforation c in thel main body of the clip and through a sleeve preferably formed integral with the jaw D. This bolt is provided with a head e', so as to preclude its movement entirely through the main body of the clip, and

its opposite end is screw-threaded and provided with a spring-washer e2 and nut es. Said washer and nut, acting against the outside of the jaw D, serve to force the latter toward the main bodyB of the clip, and therefore toward the jaws C C thereof.

The main body B is provided with a downward extension F, and the extremity of this extension is prolonged and turned upwardly at f. This extension is provided with a perforation f', and the portion F is also pro vided with a perforation f2 coincident therewith.

G designates the rocking lever, secured at IOO its upper end by means of a bolt and n .lt to the detector-bar g. The lower end of this rocking lever is provided with a perforation g to receive the axle g2. The axle g2 is provided near its outer end with an annular groove or recess g3, and the portion f of the extension F is provided with the perforation f3, so as to permit the key g4to`be received therein.

In operation the two parts of the clip are placed on opposite sides of the bottom web a of the rail, the auxiliary screw-jaws c having been first properly adjusted. The nut e2 is then tightened upon the bolt, and by reason of the iirm grip made Apossible by the construction of the jaws above described the clip as a whole is rigidly secured to the rail. This grip, as will be noted, is at two points upon one side of the web a, and the point upon the other side of the web with which engages the jaw D is at a point about midway between the jaws C C. This conduces to the security of the fastening. The rocking detector-bar G is then placed within the recess between the extension F and the upturned portion f and the axle g placed through the perforation f2 in the latter, through the perforation g in the end of the rocking detector-bar, and through the perforation f in the extension f. Vh'en the annular recess or groove g3 coincides with the perforation f3 in the upward extension f, the key g4 is passed through said perforation f3 and into said recess or groove g3, thereby securely holding the axle g2 in position.

I claiml. In a deteotorbar clip, the combination with a rail, of jaws located on opposite sides thereof and adjustable relatively to each other, and adjustable auxiliary jaws within one or more of the first-named jaws, whose ends contact with said rail, substantially as set forth.

2. In a detector-bar clip, the combination with a rail, of jaws located on opposite sides thereof, a bolt for adjusting said jaws relatively to each other, and adjustable auxiliary jaws within one or more of the first-named jaws, having beveled ends for engaging with the web of the rail, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 31st day of December, 1895.

CHARLES HANSEL. Witnesses:

ROBERT H. RUDOLPH, GEORGE W. GRIsER. 

